Ballet excels at defying gravity. Lightness, ethereality, wispiness, symmetry, lineal order, chivalry and blissful endings to well-worn tales bestow on ballet a reputation as an art form that embraces divine beauty and design. But themes of grief, trauma, death, war, annihilation, exploitation, abuse, oppression and genocide do not frequently skim the surface sur la pointe. Bearing weighty burdens has traditionally found a place in the realm of modern dance in works such as Martha Graham's Lamentation, or Paul Taylor's image of Armageddon in Last Look.

But beyond shimmering tutus and pristine arabesques, there are other reasons why heavy issues seldom appear on the ballet stage. Taking on a serious subject requires a serious treatment. A ballet about terrorism could easily trivialize the subject through melodrama or prettification. Classical vocabulary was born from noble demeanor in the royal courts; in the wrong hands, it can seem limited in registering the mood of a sordid subject or for expressing disturbing behavior. Add to that the industry's marketing directors and board members, tempted towards steering directors and choreographers away from challenging ballets for fear of poor ticket sales.

New York Theatre Ballet performs "Dark Elegies." Photo by Darial Sneed, Courtesy New York Theatre Ballet.

Still, there is a small, but potent, tradition of ballets that have embraced dark themes.The late Antony Tudor, who served as American Ballet Theatre's choreographer emeritus, gravitated towards disquieting topics. His Dark Elegies, set to Gustav Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, is a masterwork, a ritualistic meditation on mass death affecting a small European community. More than any other piece of choreography, it spoke to the inexplicable losses after the terrorist attacks on 9/11: How do we absorb and move on from such grave loss?

Many of Tudor's ballets ventured into deep, unsettled waters. He insisted on unadorned simplicity, allowing the movement to speak for itself. No operatic gestures or mugging. No pyrotechnical feats. Just pure ballet vocabulary, connected by the honesty of eloquent transitions, woven into art, reflecting life and human character. An arabesque in meaningful context is not just an arabesque. And that's why it works.

Another ballet that transfigures simplicity into genius, Kurt Jooss' The Green Table from 1932, still sends a penetrating anti-war message. All the archetypes (apart from the squabbling diplomats)—soldiers, a profiteer, a guerrilla insurgent, an elderly woman, a vulnerable girl—are usurped or impacted by the figure of Death. When I danced with the Joffrey Ballet in the mid-1970s, we performed The Green Table in the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. Russian audiences, startled that ballet could speak this language, wholly grasped the universality of the message: War destroys. Robert Joffrey always programmed The Green Table last on repertoire evenings. Anything else seems frivolous and empty afterwards.

At the end of the 20th century, Kenneth MacMillan dabbled in darkness. His Mayerling depicts the murder-suicide of the Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf's mistress and himself. William Forsythe's Love Songs, one of his first successes, examines the ugly trysts of yuppies, darkly and humorously at odds with the Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick songs to which it is set.

Which brings us directly into the present. Two choreographers, Jessica Lang and Stephen Mills, have stepped into the dark with some success both artistically and commercially. At first, both were wary about creating anything concerning the subjects they explored. For Lang, it was post-traumatic stress disorder in soldiers; for Mills, it was the Holocaust.

Three years ago, Jessica Lang Dance's board president, a former marine, told the choreographer he wanted to see the arts highlight more issues that veterans face. For her research, she interviewed soldiers with PTSD and therapists who specialized in its treatment. "I didn't want to try anything literal and I didn't want it to be an imitation of war," says Lang. The resulting work, Thousand Yard Stare (referring to the term for the unfocused gaze of a shell-shocked soldier), is one of the most requested works in her repertoire. The ballet, set to the passionate third movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 15, evokes the interplay of discipline and exhaustion through its militaristic formations, soldierly camaraderie and slogging bodies.

Above all, Lang wanted to respect the soldiers' experiences. "I wanted to make sure it was honorable without exploiting anything," she says. "I wanted to come from a place of realness, and I did because of my connection with the veterans."

Is she surprised that audiences embrace Thousand Yard Stare? "It's interesting it has resonated with so many," she says. The work has been greeted by cheers and tears in both red states and blue states, because it presents a physical, multidimensional view of the issue. For the dancers, the responsibility of the task and the intensity of the movement have been challenging. "They can't not bring their soul onto the stage every time we do it," says Lang.

Artists of Ballet West in "The Green Table." Photo by Kelli Bramble, Courtesy Ballet West.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the American instigation of war in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Stephen Mills, the artistic director of Ballet Austin, questioned what he, an artist, could do about these serious situations. A professor friend introduced him to Naomi Warren, a survivor of three Nazi concentration camps. "She told me that we are all citizens of the world and that artists have every responsibility to use whatever platform and influence they have to contribute in socially responsible ways," says Mills. "It was with her I began the journey."

After two years of exhaustive research trips to Holocaust museums, visits to eight Polish, German and Czech concentration camp sites, and time spent in Israel with survivors, Mills was ready to focus on Warren's story. "It was a narrative I could handle safely," he says, "without fear of co-opting someone's story or standing on a landmine." The greatest challenge, he says, was to process so many ideas and convincingly relate Warren's tragic, emotional story with authenticity.

Light/The Holocaust & Humanity Project, premiered in 2005 at Ballet Austin, acts as a metaphor for Warren's journey. It begins with Warren's early life and moves into a world of fear and degradation. But from the horror, a spirit triumphs. Everywhere it has been performed, the work has spurred discussions about citizen responsibility when confronted by acts of bigotry and hate, a timely subject, indeed. Light/The Holocaust & Humanity Project has been performed by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Colorado Ballet, and, this season, Nashville Ballet will present it.

In 2018, Mills will premiere another full-length ballet called Exit Wounds, a triptych of stories about courageous people, including those who have faced the AIDS epidemic. "Art is in a different place in the world," says Mills. "The only way we'll continue to be viable is if we remain relevant in people's lives. When I develop and curate work, I keep that in mind." Right on, I say.

Fluffy story ballets have their place, especially in satisfying budgetary and escapist needs. But let ballet be a thinking art form, either through masterful composition and musicality, bold imagination, smart collaborations—or by relating to contemporary issues that allow us to reckon with lives filled with both light and darkness.

The New York Times reports that a two-month long internal investigation into sexual harassment and physical abuse allegations against Peter Martins, New York City Ballet's former ballet master in chief, has found that the accusations could not be corroborated. In December, an anonymous letter sent to NYCB and its affiliated School of American Ballet accused Martins of sexual harassment, although the claims were non-specific. Afterwards, several former dancers and one current company member came forward to the press accusing him of physical assault and verbal abuse. Martins, who directed the company for 35years and has denied the accusations, retired on New Year's Day after taking a leave of absence. An interim team led by ballet master Jonathan Stafford has been overseeing the company in the meantime.

If you are in need of a feel-good ballet movie night, check this out: Bolshoi, a 2017 Russian coming-of-age drama starring real dancers and filmed on location at the Bolshoi Theater, is now available on multiple VOD platforms. The film follows Yulia Olshanskaya, a scrappy working class kid, as she navigates life at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and eventually, the company. Like most dance movies á la Center Stage, it's full of the usual ballet clichés. But, like Center Stage, it's also fun, beautifully shot and full of gorgeous dancing (including a mean fouétte turn contest). Polish National Ballet coryphée Margarita Simonova stars as as Yulia, while Anna Isaeva, a former Kremlin Ballet dancer, plays Karina, Yulia's wealthy best friend and biggest competition. Ekaterinberg Ballet principal Andrei Sorokin and former Paris Opéra Ballet étoile Nicholas Le Riche also star.

The film centers on the friendship and rivalry of Yulia and Karina. Discovered by a washed-up Bolshoi star in her industrial town, the rebellious Yulia struggles to fit in once she enters the prestigious Moscow school. But a strict and influential teacher (played by Alisa Freyndlikh) takes her under her wing, and defends her when other school officials want her out. Soon Yulia and Karina are up for the role of Aurora for the school's graduation performance—and the result affects their futures once they enter the company. Flashbacks to Yulia's childhood flesh out her defiant nature, and help make her ultimate sacrifice towards the end especially touching.

Photo Courtesy TriCoast.

One scene that may raise American eyebrows is during the audition, in which young Yulia must wear her underwear. This is typical of Russian ballet academy auditions in order for teachers to evaluate the dancers' lines and proportions (although Yulia's actual audition is pretty far-fetched).The two-hourBolshoi, in Russian with English subtitles, is now available on iTunes, Fandango, Vudu, FlixFling, Hoopla, In Demand, GooglePlay, Dish, Sony Playstation, Direct TV and Microsoft Xbox.

Many dancers struggle with brisé, says Laszlo Berdo, associate director of the Charlotte Ballet Academy. "But once you've mastered it, it's not that difficult." Here's how he helps his students beat the brisé blues.

Hold your turnout: Laszlo Berdo says a common mistake is stepping forward on a turned-in leg in anticipation of the brisé. "You lose the support of that standing leg. Then you have no power to jump," he says. "That plié is your saving grace and control."

Create a line: Berdo notices that some dancers dégagé à la seconde instead of effacé. "It's really difficult to chase that leg into second when you're trying to move forward." He teaches brisé with an open shoulder blade. "The back arm's extension is a reference to the front leg's dégagé. Keep that energy stretching out."

Every ballerina grows up aspiring to nail the fouetté turns in the coda of Swan Lake's Black Swan Pas de Deux. From classic primas like Natalia Makarova to current pros like Gillian Murphy, the 32-fouetté sequence has become so iconic that even our non-dancer friends know about the tricky turns. But yesterday, American Ballet Theatre principal Christine Shevchenko introduced us to a totally new take on the fouettés that we've been watching on a loop, in awe.

Much of what Ballet West soloist Katlyn Addison carries around in her (two) dance bags has been repurposed. She wraps her toes in black hockey tape which her brother, a National Hockey League player in their home country of Canada, ships to her, and she keeps her bobby pins in an old glass salsa jar. "I like to reuse things," says Addison. She totes everything around in shopping bags (one for pointe shoes and sewing tools, one for everything else) from the clothing store Free People.

Alicia Graf Mack has consistently defied just about every limitation and expectation throughout her dance career. She was a leading performer with three incredible companies: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, from which she retired in 2016, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She also earned two college degrees in the midst of her performing career (from Columbia University and Washington University in St. Louis, no less) and has even written for Pointe, including our June/July 2014 cover story on Misty Copeland, Ebony Williams and Ashley Murphy. This week we're throwing it back to this wonder woman's 2004 performance of Robert Garland's Return with Dance Theatre of Harlem.